Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Everyone
knows that rock star Mal Kenneally never has sex with the same woman
twice. Adoring fans of his band The Rough assume this is just part of
his brooding, dangerous image, but the true reasons lie far deeper. A
confirmed sadist who delights in inflicting pain, Mal is afraid he’ll
cause serious damage—physical
and psychological—if he allows any woman to get
close. Disastrous past relationships have taught him to keep sex
superficial and to dismiss his partners after a single encounter,
before his insatiable Need takes over.

Gwen
Hamilton dreams of becoming an actress. With her wealth and media
connections, she could buy her way into show business, but she wants
to succeed based on her own talent. Disguised and using an assumed
name, she auditions for the part of a punk-inspired wild child, only
to be dismissed before the director even listens to her read. On the
rebound, she mingles with the groupies at a concert by The Rough and
is chosen as Mal’s girl for the evening. She stays in character as
Mal takes her, uses her, and gives her the sort of painful pleasure
she’d almost given up on ever feeling again.

Mal
finds he can’t forget the cheeky but profoundly submissive groupie
he calls Excrutia, who sports a “Love Pain” tattoo on the inside
of her thigh. As Mal tries to locate her, his publicist insists that
the rock star shepherd the beautiful, cultured Gwen to various
events, making a foursome with band front man Axel Hawke and his
lover, Gwen’s sister Ricki. Gwen’s a good girl, an innocent, or
so Mal believes. In her presence, he tries to remain distant and act
the part of the gentleman escort, but he’s nearly as fascinated by
Gwen as by the mysterious red-headed fan girl.

Eventually,
of course, Gwen’s masquerade becomes apparent. By that time, Mal
and Gwen have become entangled emotionally and sexually. Mal’s
instincts are to leave, to protect the woman he loves from his inner
darkness. Gwen, however, is determined to keep him if she possibly
can.

I
absolutely loved this novel—even more than Taking
the Lead, the first book in this series,
which I reviewed very favorablyearlier this year. It’s intelligent,
lively, subtle, deeply romantic and unabashedly kinky. Mal’s an
extreme character, but Ms. Tan makes his doubts and his demons mostly
plausible. Meanwhile, Gwen is simultaneously an outrageous pain slut
and a practical, confident young woman who’s not afraid to fight
for what she wants. She demolishes the stereotype of the doormat sub,
illustrating that courage, self-love and self-respect lie at the core
of true surrender.

Wild
Licks is marketed as erotic romance, and it
fits all the qualifications of the genre. Still, I’d label it as
romantic erotica—not because it’s chock full of deliciously
varied, lusciously detailed sex scenes (although it is), but because
of its themes. At its heart, Wild Licks
revolves around Gwen and Mal coming to terms with their sexual
identities. Mal, in particular, struggles to accept his kinky
desires. He has difficulty believing that any relationship that
satisfies his sadistic urges could possibly be healthy and enduring.
Gwen is more pragmatic. She recognizes that she needs what Mal
provides. Despite having less experience with kink than Mal, she sees
far more clearly that they cannot pretend to be vanilla. The
exchanges of power and pain in which they indulge nurture and sustain
them both.

Erotica
concerns itself with the experience of desire and the way it changes
us. Over the course of this novel, Mal and Gwen evolve toward
greater understanding of their sexual selves, as well as toward
the deeper love and commitment expected of a romance.

Readers
who just want a hot story with a HEA about a sexy rock star and his
girl will be thoroughly satisfied by Wild
Licks. Those who care to look deeper will
discover a thoughtful exploration of how kink shapes and challenges
those of us who are wired that way.

(Note:
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an
honest review.)